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Conservation is one of the most important and often most misunderstood roles within a museum. In this episode of Object Matters Dr Craig Barker is joined by the Chau Chak Wing Museum\\u2019s former Conservator Alayne Alvis to discuss the function of conservation and the role of a conservator in the process of collection management and exhibitions. The object the pair discuss dates to c. 730-720 BC and is a Neo Assyrian carved ivory plaque of a female figure that Alayne has worked very closely with. Excavated by Sir Max Mallowan from Fort Shalmaneser at Nimrud in Iraq in the 1950s, the discussion leads from the difference between field conservation and museum conservation, the ethics of working with ivory and the crime writer Agatha Christie\\u2019s role in the excavation of Assyrian ivories.
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What can we learn from objects as a result of the close analysis and detailed observations afforded by conservation treatment?
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Object record: NM59.12.
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\\nMuse article: Bollen, E. and Alvis, A. (2013) The Mystery of the Nimrud Ivory, MUSE, 5, pp. 15-17
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\\nGuest: Alayne Alvis was Conservator for the collections of the University of Sydney for over a decade, and the inaugural Conservator for the Chau Chak Wing Museum.

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\\nHost: Dr Craig Barker, Head, Public Engagement, Chau Chak Wing Museumand Director, Paphos Theatre Archaeological Excavations. Follow @DrCraig_B on Twitter and Instagram.\\xa0

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\\nSubscribe to Muse Extra, our monthly newsletter and follow @ccwm_sydney on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Learn more about the Chau Chak Wing Museum at sydney.edu.au/museum\\n